n the early evening of November 10,
1975, during one of the worst
storms to hit Lake Superior in 30
years, the 729-foot Edmund Fitzgerald
vanished without one signal for help.
Launched in 1958, the ship set many
cargo records and proved to be a profit
able investment for her owners. In one
of the last scheduled trips before winter
closed shipping lanes, the Fitzgeraldde
parted Superior, Wisconsin, for Detroit,
Michigan, loaded with 26,116 tons of
taconite pellets destined for steel mills.
Battered by 30-foot seas and 90-mile
an-hour winds, the ship abruptly dived
to the bottom with her crew of 29. Only
ten miles away, crewmen aboard the
767-foot Arthur M. Anderson watched
in disbelief as the Fitzgeralddisappeared
from radar. Although other ships in the
area joined the U. S. Coast Guard in
attempts to locate survivors, none were
found, and no bodies were recovered.
The following spring the Coast Guard
began an extensive investigation, but
experts could not agree on why the Fitz
geraldsank. Even after 20 years and five
diving investigations, the cause remains
a mystery.
Last summer, at the request of still
grieving family members, an expedition
was assembled to recover the ship's bell
to commemorate the missing crew.
Thomas L. Farnquist is executive director of the
Great Lakes Shipwreck Historical Society. Emory
Kristof specializes in deepwater photography.
38
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